Bills linebacker group ranked as one of NFL's worst

Bills linebacker group ranked as one of NFL's worst

The Buffalo Bills’ defense has undergone quite a few changes since Sean McDermott became coach in January of this year.

One such change is the team’s defensive scheme, as the Bills will now play in a 4-3 front as opposed to the hybrid 3-4 scheme they played in under former coach Rex Ryan.

The change to a 4-3 front will greatly help Buffalo’s defensive line. Natural defensive ends Jerry Hughes and Shaq Lawson’s primary responsibility will now be to get after the quarterback. However, the scheme change actually highlights the team’s weakness at the linebacker position.

They’re switching schemes (again), with new coach Sean McDermott a 4-3 proponent. Lorenzo Alexander had a breakout 2016, but how will he adapt after thriving on the edge? Reggie Ragland is an unknown after a knee injury ruined his rookie year.

Davis’ concerns are valid. Outside linebacker Lorenzo Alexander, who is coming off a career year in which he recorded 12.5 sacks, is now 34 years old. While it’s entirely possible Alexander could follow up his stellar 2016 campaign with another impressive outing, this possibility doesn’t seem too likely.

Related

Davis also isn’t sold on middle linebacker Reggie Ragland, who was unable to play a single snap in his rookie season after tearing his ACL in training camp. However, Ragland, who showed tremendous leadership ability throughout his college career, appears to be progressing along nicely in his recovery. In training camp and preseason there will likely be a position battle between Ragland and fourth-year man Preston Brown for the starting middle linebacker position.

Like this article?

Sign up for the Bills Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning

Success

Thanks for signing up.
You'll be waking up a little more awesome tomorrow.

Whoa!

Something went wrong.

Despite that they’re ranked 24th in the league, Davis feels as though the Bills’ linebacker group is the second best in the AFC East. The Miami Dolphins are ranked 26th, five spots ahead of the New York Jets.

Unfortunately, Buffalo’s linebacker group doesn’t appear to be too strong on paper. Fortunately, the game isn’t played on paper.